Kyle O'Quinn #10 of the Norfolk State Spartans drives in the first half against Steve Moore #32 of the Missouri Tigers uring the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at CenturyLink Center on March 16, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska.

Photo: Eric Francis, Getty Images

Kyle O'Quinn #10 of the Norfolk State Spartans drives in the first...

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OMAHA, NE - MARCH 16: Kyle O'Quinn #10 and Brandon Wheeless #24 of the Norfolk State Spartans celebrate after they won 86-84 against the Missouri Tigers during the second round of the 2012 NCAA Men's Basketball Tournament at CenturyLink Center on March 16, 2012 in Omaha, Nebraska. (Photo by Doug Pensinger/Getty Images)

Seemingly every May, there is a prospect who leaps up NBA teams' draft boards, and the early favorite to make that kind of jump this season is Norfolk State big man Kyle O'Quinn.

The 6-foot-10, 240-pounder had 26 points and 14 rebounds in his 15th-seeded team's 86-84 upset of No. 2-seeded Missouri in the NCAA Tournament on March 16. Last month, he was the MVP at the Portsmouth Invitational, an annual tournament that scouts NBA draft prospects in Portsmouth, Va.

"The momentum is definitely flowing," said O'Quinn, who was in Oakland to work out for the Warriors on Wednesday. "It's crazy that we're still talking about the Missouri game a month and half later, but the momentum is still going forward. I want to keep it going that way."

O'Quinn's wingspan measured 7-5 at Portsmouth, where he showed the chiseled frame and defensive timing to play either power forward or center in the NBA. He still needs to polish his offensive game (he averaged 15.9 points a game his senior season at Norfolk State), but he displays good passing instincts.

He averaged 11.7 rebounds and 3.7 blocked shots a game in the invitational and was voted MVP despite his team's loss in the championship game.

"That was like the coming out party to my professional career," O'Quinn said. "Coming from a small school, you need to do the most you can. I can't sit behind closed doors and hope people come and watch me. I've got to come to them."

He has worked out for the Lakers and Spurs and attended a multi-team camp in New Jersey. The Warriors have said finding a backup big man is one of their top offseason priorities.

O'Quinn is from Queens, N.Y., and said he felt right at home on his first trip to Oakland, because the Warriors have such a New York connection. Head coach Mark Jackson and assistant Michael Malone are from New York, and backup point guard Charles Jenkins grew up near O'Quinn.

"You would die to go see him play high school ball," O'Quinn said of Jenkins. "Any little thing he does is big in the city. The papers blow it up. My family follows him, and I follow him. Everyone talks about Charles back at home."

Now, O'Quinn has the neighborhood talking about him.

Another Baylor forward? The Warriors drafted Ekpe Udoh out of Baylor in 2010, and they've shown interest in Baylor forward Perry Jones III, who has been dominating in recent Southern California workouts.

The Warriors haven't brought Jones to Oakland for an individual workout yet, but they hosted his college teammate Quincy Acy this week.

"He's 6-11, and he can do what the little guys do. It's amazing," Acy said of Jones. "People criticize him, but it's nonsense to me. He loves the game of basketball. He's going to play hard and he's going to compete."

They've got next

The Warriors will bring in their fourth six-player group for pre-draft workouts Saturday. The top prospect of the group is Kansas point guard Tyshawn Taylor, who is projected as a late first-round pick.